


Forever Is A Long Time, But I Wouldn't Mind Spending It By Your Side

by fabuloushazza



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-11 00:26:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8945296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabuloushazza/pseuds/fabuloushazza
Summary: Maybe it was fate. Louis and Harry were meant to spend their lives with each other, regardless of what could happen. Because when you're spending your life with the right person, you can overcome any rocky situation that life throws at you. Louis just hopes that Harry is that person.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [harrylouiz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/harrylouiz/gifts).



"Harry!"

A five-year old Harry Styles excitedly jumped out of bed. Today was possibly one of the most exciting days of his life.

He was going on his first family vacation. Well, it technically wasn't his first vacation with his family, considering the fact that they had traveled multiple times before since he was born, but he didn't remember much about the first few years of his life, which was when all these previous family vacations occurred. So with that logic, this was his first family vacation, and he couldn't be more excited for the fun to begin.

•

The ground was covered in snow. Harry jumped out of the car, turned to the left and saw a huge building in front of him.

Ski Lodge & Resort Hotel  
Doncaster, England 

Harry smiled widely. He had never been skiing before, so he was very excited to see what it was like.

"Harry! Come here!"

Harry ran back to where his mother, father, and sister were.

"Hi, I'd like to check in for a hotel reservation for four, please."

"Mum," Harry said, tapping his mom on the shoulder, "Can Gem and I go look?"

"Alright, then," his northern said, then turning towards Gemma, "Keep a sharp eye on your brother, okay? Don't lose him."

Gemma chuckled, took Harry's hand and led him through the hotel lobby.

He saw skis and sleds hung up on the walls, a warm fireplace with people surrounding it, and random decorations placed on the walls and ceiling the make the building look nice.

One thing - or more specifically, one person - in particular seemed to catch Harry's eye more than the beauty of the resort.

There was a small boy that seemed about his age, walking around with his mother and who Harry assumed was his little sister.

"Whatcha looking at, Harry?"

Harry excitedly grinned and pointed at the boy, waving hello to him. 

Gemma laughed and smiled.

In the distance, Harry could hear the boy's mother saying something.

The boy swiftly waved hello back and then turned to his mother, walking away.

 

"Gemma! Harry!" 

"Come on, let's go," Gemma said, taking Harry's small hand and leading him back to the front desk where their mother was. Harry frowned and waved goodbye again in the direction the young boy was walking in, as if he saw Harry. All he could think about for the rest of the day was the brown-haired, blue-eyed boy.

\--

The next morning, Harry was in a really good mood from the second he woke up.

"What's gotten into him?"

Gemma remembered what happened the day before, the encounter with the boy he would probably never see again.

"I don't know," Gemma said, "Who even knows what's going on in that five year old mind of his?"

Their mother walked out of their hotel room, leaving Gemma alone to talk to Harry.

"You were thinking about that boy, weren't you?"

Harry nodded and smiled.

"As much as I hate to say this, you do know you're probably not going to see him again, right?"

"Yes," Harry said with a sad look appearing on his face.

"Cheer up. We're supposed to go sledding today, remember?"

All Harry could do was stare at the walls and think about the boy he saw the other day. It felt like they were friends although all they didn't even say a single word to each other. Hopefully spending some time with his family would get his mind off of everything. 

\--

"Please be careful out there, Harry."

Harry saw a boy running around near him. Immediately the boy looked familiar. It couldn't have been the boy he was thinking about. 

Harry decided to run over to him - in a not creepy way - and find out for himself.

"I said be careful!" his mother yelled, "Gemma, go watch after your brother and make sure he doesn't get hurt!"

Harry tapped the boy on the shoulder and waved hello.

"Hey - you're the boy I saw in the lobby!"

"Yes!"

Harry still couldn't believe it but he couldn't be happier.

"What's your name?"

"Harry."

"I'm Louis, it's nice to meet you," Louis said, holding his hand out.

"Shake his hand, don't be shy," Gemma whispered to Harry.

Harry shook Louis' hand and blushed.

"So, Harry, what are you doing here?"

"I'm with my mum and Gemma," Harry explained.

"We're just here on vacation to visit some relatives, we're actually a few hours away from here," Gemma told Louis.

"Do you want to come sledding with me and my sister?"

"Gemma, can I? Please?" Harry begged.

"Go ask mum," Gemma told him as he dashed off to ask his mother.

"Can I please go play with him? Please?" Harry asked with a sad look on his face, hoping to convince his mother to let him spend more time with the boy he was for some reason constantly thinking about. 

"Alright," his mother said, sighing, "just make sure your sister keeps an eye on you, okay?"

"Yay!" Harry exclaimed, running back to Louis.

 

Harry spent a majority of the day with Louis and his family, and he thought it was one of the best days of his life and wished he could relive it over and over again. Little did he know that his wish would come true.

•

Every year, Harry and his family would come back to Doncaster and every year they would stay with Louis and his family. Harry also learned that Louis had celebrated his birthday on Christmas Eve and one night the two of them had just stayed up all night talking and jumping around until their parents told them to go to sleep.

The Tomlinsons were like a second family to Harry, and the Styles' were like a second family to Louis. Everything seemed right and Harry never wanted to leave this state of mind and wished things could be like this forever. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case as time went by. Harry and Louis got older and with growing up came school and starting to get jobs and trying to find out what they wanted to do with their lives. Growing up was a scary thing for them, and they were nowhere near ready for it to happen and were certainly not enjoying it. Harry enjoyed singing but never really saw himself having a career in it, so he worked in a bakery for a couple years because it was another passion of his and an easy way to make him money. Louis, on the other hand, never really gave up on music. He had started a YouTube channel and posted covers on there. He did get criticized sometimes, but he didn't care. Music was what made him happy and no one could take that away from him. He had watched The X Factor for years and dreamt of auditioning for it and then one day, he decided to make that dream a reality and his friends and family were nothing but supportive of him.

•

After months of practicing and prepararing, the time came for him to audition.

"You ready?"

His parents looked at him as they walked out of the house, about to make the long drive.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Louis said with a slightly nervous tone in his voice, smiling as he got into the car. 

The entire car ride was filled with almost complete silence as Louis looked out the window for the next couple hours just thinking. Of course he was excited, but he was also nervous and kind of shocked. He still couldn't believe he was going to audition for a show he had watched and admired for a long time. 

People who had managed some of the biggest singers and bands in the world were going to be watching him sing, along with thousands of people. It was a big deal for him and honestly it was a bit terrifying and he was pretty scared - then again, who wouldn't be? 

"Louis, we're here."

Louis heard his mother speaking and quickly got out of the car. He looked at his surroundings, the first thing he noticed being the thousands of people already in line and the big building in front of him.

He tried to block the negative thoughts from his mind and got in the long line. He put his earbuds in and listened to music, knowing he would be waiting here for a while.

•

"155204. There you go, kid."

The man in front of him gave him a piece of paper with that number and directed him and his family inside for yet another long wait. 

"Thanks," Louis said with a small smile.

Louis walked around the building for a bit and stopped in the restroom to take a few minutes to himself to try and relax and calm his nerves a bit.

He stared at himself in the mirror and fixed his hair and tie a little bit and then just as he was about to walk out of the room, he bumped into someone. He looked up and immediately froze when he saw the familiar face.

"Hi," Harry said, looking at him and smiling.

"You're here too?" Louis asked, still in shock by the fact that Harry - the boy he hadn't seen for years - was right in front of him again after all this time.

"Yeah," Harry mumbled.

"I didn't know you could sing," Louis said.

"To be fair, I didn't know you were a singer either," Harry replied, raising his eyebrow.

"You know, I never had you pegged as the type of person to sing or be in a band or whatever," Louis told him.

"Well, I guess you thought wrong," Harry retorted.

"Who knows? Maybe you'll be famous someday," Louis said with a smile.

Harry blushed. He had never been complimented on his voice by anyone other than his parents and sister.

"Well, would you like my autograph?" Harry asked.

Louis nodded.

"I don't have a pen."

Harry pulled a permanent marker and small piece of paper from his back pocket, quickly signed it and handed it to Louis.

"Here you go. Now you'll have my autograph when I'm famous. If I'm famous."

"I have no doubt you will be," Louis said with a smile, patting his shoulder before leaving the room and going back to his family, "was nice seeing you again!"

Both Louis and Harry's auditions went well and they both made it through to the next round, making their families proud and happy that they weren't just chasing their dream - they were living it and turning it into a reality.

Unfortunately, it didn't last as long as Louis and Harry had hoped. They had both gotten eliminated from the show during the second round and thought that everything was over after that.

Harry was in tears, trying to push away the photographers and filmers so everyone watching the show wouldn't see him with puffy and bloodshot eyes and tears rolling down his cheeks.

He sat down with his head buried in his hands just thinking about everything. Just thinking about the situation made him anxious.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he looked up to see a few men walking in the room calling names from a list. 

He heard his name being called and his heart immediately started racing. The next name called was Louis Tomlinson.

They both quickly stood up and walked towards each other. 

"What's going on?" Harry mumbled nervously, almost like a whisper. 

"I don't know," Louis said, rubbing Harry's back in an attempt to calm him down, "Everything will be okay. Everything will work out. I promise."

Three other names were called off the list. Louis and Harry turned around and looked at three people they had never seen before.

"Gentlemen, follow me," the man told the five boys as he led them to another room.

Harry could see the looks of confusion and fear on the faces of the other three guys standing next to him and Louis, and he was pretty sure him and Louis looked the same way.

The five of them were lead to the same stage they had performed on several hours before, standing next to a group of four other people.

They all awaited what was to come next.

Simon Cowell had told the nine boys standing on the stage that both groups were moving on in the competition, but as bands instead of solo acts.

Harry didn't even know how to feel. He didn't care about the fact that he was going to have to get to know and perform with Louis and three complete strangers. All that was running through his mind was that he got through to the next round and he couldn't be happier.

A few seconds later, Louis came over to him, picked him up and hugged him, spinning him around in excitement.

"Told you it was going to work out," Louis said with a smile before heading out of the building with his new bandmates.

•

Harry and Louis later found out that the other three boys' names were Niall, Liam and Zayn.

Niall was the only one in the group who wasn't actually from England, Liam had auditioned for the X Factor two years prior but didn't make it through (Louis finally found out why Liam looked so familiar to him) and Zayn seemed to be pretty shy. Louis assumed it was either that or he was having an off day and needed space, so he gave Zayn space for a few days until he felt a bit more comfortable being around four complete strangers.

Harry felt like all five of them got along so well and they could sing perfectly together. Not only that, but he was happy to have the opportunity to get closer to Louis again and he sure as hell wasn't going to waste it, and it seemed like Louis felt the same way. 

Everything seemed like it was falling into place, and Louis and Harry couldn't be happier about it.

A few weeks into the competition was when the band started getting stopped for pictures and started getting a lot of attention, the majority of it being from teenage girls who were slightly younger than them. Harry was okay with it, and he was glad it didn't get to be too overwhelming yet.

By the time the finale came around, hundreds and thousands of people would line up just to see them.

Harry couldn't really wrap his mind around it. Knowing that there were so many people who came to the show and waited outside just to see something he was a part of... It just seemed like it was all happening so fast. It was as if he was at the top of a rollercoaster and didn't want to come down. 

In the end, the band came in third place and to say that Harry was upset was an understatement. He didn't expect to win, even with all the attention and fame he was already getting before the band even released any original music, but of course he was still upset that he didn't win. 

A few weeks after the competition had ended, he found out that Simon was going to be signing the band to his record label, and he couldn't be happier. Despite the fact that he would have to keep it a secret for so long, he was just too curious and excited for what was to happen in the years to come. The best part was, he got to experience it all with Louis, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

•

It was right around the time of Christmas - and Louis' birthday. Harry went home with this feeling that he couldn't really explain. In the last few months, him and Louis really got closer to each other and he felt some kind of connection between them. 

"Harry, wait."

Harry turned around. 

"Would you like to spend Christmas with me?"

Just say yes, Harry. 

For some reason, as much as he wanted to say yes, he just couldn't say it. Or anything for that matter.

"Come on, Haz. It'll be just like old times."

Harry blushed at the nickname, remembering that's what Louis used to call them when they were younger.

"Sure, I'd like that."

 

It was as awkward as Harry predicted it would be. The entire Christmas visit consisted of silence and awkward stares between him and Louis. Louis' family of course bombarded them with questions but other than that, they didn't really speak much. 

Little did Harry know, Louis had been thinking about what was going on between them as much as he did, and he planned to break the silence once and for all, hoping it wouldn't go wrong.

•

 

"Look," Louis said as he saw Harry sitting alone not saying a word, "There's been nothing but silence between us for the past week and I want to change that." 

Harry still didn't say anything.

"There's something I need to tell you, it's kind of important," Louis mumbled, starting to feel slightly nervous. 

Harry turned around and his eyes widened in curiosity. 

"I like you, okay?," Louis began, "I don't know if I made it kind of obvious but I tried to hint at it a little bit."

Harry thought about everything that happened since he reunited with Louis.

The time Louis picked him up and spun him around when they found out they were going to be in a band together and move on to the second round of X Factor.

The time Louis asked him to come home with him for the holidays.

All the connections they had over the past several months.

Louis felt the same way he did all along.

"I don't even know if you feel the same way or not, but-"

"I do," Harry said, interrupting Louis.

"Really?" Louis said, a small grin appearing on his face.

"Yes, really," Harry replied, "I've felt this way about you for so long and I never knew if you did or not. I never knew if you felt the same connection with me that I did with you. I really like you and I'm glad you like me too."

"Will you be my boyfriend?" Louis asked.

"Does this answer your question?" Harry quickly asked back before kissing Louis on the lips.

"This is all I wanted for Christmas."

"You ruined the moment with that pun," Harry joked.

Louis laughed before kissing Harry again.

Louis' sisters walked in as him and Harry looked at them with surprise.

"How long have you been here?"

Lottie held a small piece of mistletoe between Harry and Louis as they kissed once more and then walked out to join Louis' family.

Harry hoped this relationship would last, no matter what fate had in store for them with their career.

•

"So, you guys are together now?" Niall asked.

"You owe me ten dollars, Ni," Zayn said, laughing.

"You guys are cool with this, right?" Louis asked nervously, squeezing Harry's hand.

"Of course we are," Liam answered, "There's just one slight problem. Our management and publicity department need to know about this, and we can't speak on their behalf. I hate to kill the mood, but I don't know what they'll have to say about this."

"Well, we can only hope for the best," Louis said, turning to Harry, "Right, Haz?"

"Right."

•

"No one can know about this."

"What?" Harry and Louis asked in unison.

"I think you heard me pretty clearly," their publicist said, "Nobody can know about this. You guys can be together, but to everyone else, this is a secret. After the two of you acted all coupley that twitcam, people are already becoming suspicious and we can't let that go any further than it already has."

Louis and Harry stood there silently, Harry looking like he was about to tear up.

"To make sure nobody knows about this, Louis will be 'dating' someone," he explained, "Her name is Eleanor. You just need to go in public and hang out with her and have some press pictures taken of you. And if anybody asks in interviews or anywhere in public, you say you're taken with her, got it?"

"So I'm supposed to pretend to date her?" Louis asked, almost yelling.

"Exactly."

"But what about Harry?"

"He'll be fine. The relationship between you and Eleanor is all fake, as far as he knows. I'm sure he'll understand."

By this point, Harry walked out of the room, and Louis rushed out of there to go find him.

•

Harry didn't even know how to feel.

He couldn't believe what was going to happen. He was practically being forced to hide his relationship with Louis and didn't know a way out of the situation. He felt somewhat mad at Louis, for who knows what reason.

He heard someone knocking on the door, knowing it was Louis.

"Can I come in?" Louis asked.

"I guess," Harry answered, shrugging his shoulders.

"Hey-" Louis stopped before he saw the look on Harry's face, "What's wrong?"

"Like you don't know," Harry retorted, getting more furious by the second, "We have no choice but to hide our relationship! And on top of that, you have to go out with a girl, you have to hug her, kiss her, be around her and I just have to sit back and watch all this happen! I can't deal with all of this, Louis! I can't! And you know what the worst part is? You just stood there and didn't even try to stop it. It seemed like you don't even care. You don't mind that you have to do this."

"That's not true!" Louis shouted.

"Is it?" Harry asked in anger.

"I have no way to stop this, you know there's no way I can get out of this, neither of us can-" Louis tried to explain.

"Get out," Harry said.

"What?" Louis mumbled softly.

"Get out! I don't want to talk to you or anyone right now!" Harry yelled before he almost broke down in tears.

Louis walked away, slamming the door. Harry knew he was going to regret what he said.

•

Harry and Louis barely talked other than if they were going to be performing at a show.

When they did talk it was usually "What time do we have to leave?" or "What time are we supposed to perform?"

Since Louis started "dating" Eleanor, his once inseparable connection with Harry had slowly faded each day.

He knew something had to change and with every time he tried to get it through management's heads that he wanted to be with Harry and no one else, management still felt the same as they did before. Louis and Harry still had to hide their relationship.

The band was about to go on a small break right before their next tour and Louis was going to try to fix things, and he would do whatever necessary to get Harry back - even if it did a little damage to his career. 

Louis saw a message from Eleanor.

Are we supposed to go somewhere today? I have a flight to catch in a couple hours.

Actually, little change of plans. I'm talking to management today and they will let Harry and I be together.

Are you sure about this? What about your management, your career? Everything could change because of this!

Well, if that happens then so be it. Harry means the world to me and more, and I need to do whatever I need to in order for the two of us to be together and happy. 

If you say so. Good luck. 

Thanks, I'm going to need it. Have a safe flight home.

Louis put his phone in his pocket and drove to their management's headquarters.

•

"I have something to say and you will listen to everything. Please, just this once, hear me out."

Everyone in the room went silent.

"I'm fed up with everything. I'm not going to 'go out' with Eleanor anymore and I don't care what you think. My friendship and overall relationship with Harry is upside down just because of this whole publicity stunt. All I ask is for you to let Harry and I be happy. Go ahead, break the contract, take us off the label, do whatever you have to do. Harry and I need to be together and that's my priority. That comes before my career. And if you can't see how much he means to me then I don't know what to say."

Their publicist sighed before he finally spoke.

"Alright, here's the deal. Well put out to the press that you and Eleanor 'broke up.' You won't have to be seen 'dating' her anymore but if you are asked about it, say you two are still friends and that's all you want to say about it. As far as your relationship with Harry, you guys can come out once the band goes on hiatus in January. Deal?"

"Deal," Louis said in shock, "Thank you so much."

Louis walked out of the room, his hands shaking and his heart pounding, picking up his phone and calling Harry. The call went to voicemail, but he didn't care.

"I don't know if you're going to listen to this, but I have great news. I talked to management and we can finally come out. I just have to say to the press Eleanor and I 'broke up' and we won't be 'going out' anymore. We get to come out once the band goes on hiatus. Isn't that great? That is... if you feel the same way about me that you did a couple years ago. Because I never stopped feeling that way about you, ever. I hope you get this. I love you. Bye."

Louis hung up the phone and began the long drive to Harry's house.

•

Louis felt as if his heart was pounding out of his chest and felt so numb he could barely make out any words. He sighed and walked up the doorsteps, wondering if anyone in the Styles family would answer. He didn't know what they would say or if Harry was even home, but all he could do was stay positive and hope everything would go well. 

 

Louis took a deep breath and knocked on the door before nervously putting his hands in his jacket pockets and staring at the ground. He felt relieved when he heard the sound of someone walking towards the door about to open it. 

"Louis?" Harry's mother asked with a shocking look on her face.

"Hi", Louis mumbled awkwardly before looking at the ground again.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but what are you doing here?" 

"It's kind of a long story," Louis explained, "may I come in?"

Without saying anything, Anne moved away so she could let Louis inside. Louis looked around at the familiar surroundings. He was at Harry's house a couple times when they were together. He remembered the first time they spent Christmas and his birthday. When they first became a couple. Louis was hoping things could go back to the way they were then, but he didn't know if they would ever be like that, despite his efforts.

"Would you like anything to drink?"

"No, thanks, I'm good," Louis said with a smile as Anne got up and poured a small cup of tea.

"So, what brought you here?"

"I'm sure he's already told you most of what happened," Louis said before stopping himself, "what has he told you?"

"He told me about management, about Eleanor, about you guys getting into an argument and breaking up," Anne explained.

Louis frowned at the memories.

"I don't think I've ever seen him so upset in my life. You were his everything, Louis," Anne told him, her eyes slightly tearing up at the very thought of her baby boy being feeling terrible. 

"I know, and I know I f*cked up, big time," Louis said, sighing in regret, "but that's why I'm here. I finally convinced management to let me stop fake dating Eleanor. They said Harry and I can come out in January when the hiatus starts."

"Why did it take so long?" Anne asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Honestly, I don't even know. Management kept saying no to me and kept shutting me down and after a few times I just sort of gave up and let things happen, and that was the biggest mistake I've ever made," Louis admitted.

"Well, I'm glad you stepped up and did something about it," Anne said, "And I think Harry will be relieved."

"We barely talk anymore unless it's about shows. I really doubt he's going to take me back after what happened. I really did some damage and I don't know if he thinks it'll be repaired regardless of this," Louis replied. 

"Well, if this relationship means as much to him as it does to you, then he'll forgive you," Anne told him, "like the old saying: if you love someone, set them free and if they come back, then it's meant to be."

"Thanks," Louis said with a smile, "I'm guessing Harry's not home."

"Not right now, dear. He went out shopping but he should be home in about a half an hour or so."

For that half hour Louis sat on the living room couch just thinking about everything. Harry was going to be there. It wasn't like they hadn't seen each other in forever. They were seeing each other as if it was a normal day. When Harry walked in the door, neither of them felt like it was normal. 

To say Harry was shocked when he saw his former boyfriend in his house unexpectedly would be an understatement.

Harry shut his eyes and shook his head. This wasn't real. This wasn't happening. 

Harry opened his eyes and realized this wasn't some silly dream. It was reality. 

He didn't know what to say to Louis, or if he even wanted to speak to him, for that matter.

Louis got up and did the talking for him.

"I know you're shocked to see me and probably don't even want me here right now, but please just listen to what I have to say and hear me out.

Harry said nothing.

"Management is letting us come out in January. I don't have to be out with Eleanor anymore."

"Only took you like, what, three years?"

"Please just listen," Louis begged, "I don't even know if you want to take me back at this point, but if you do, I would be more than grateful. I know I messed up really badly, but I promise you that won't happen again."

Louis bit his lip, not knowing if Harry would respond. 

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Louis said, close to tears. "I would do anything for you to forgive me but if you don't I totally understand, it's probably what I deserve anyway."

Harry didn't know how to respond. 

"Seems like I've wasted my time," Louis mumbled under his breath as he got up and walked towards the door.

"Louis, wait."

Louis turned around and saw Harry seeming like he was the one begging for forgiveness when really, he was the one who could possibly not give forgiveness after all the sh*t he was put through. 

"I'm sorry, okay?"

Those were words Louis didn't expect to hear out of Harry's mouth. 

"When management said you had to date her and there was nothing we could do about it, I was more than hurt. I guess I just let the hurt I was feeling take control and took it out on you, which isnt fair on either of us. I thought it was less painful not being with you and seeing you with her, but I was wrong. It's less painful being with you. Regardless of what happens, we'll get through it together. Even after all this it seems like you still love me and deep down, I still love you too, and I'm willing to try again if you are."

Louis didn't say anything. He just wrapped his arms around Harry and pulled him into a tight hug.

"So we can finally come out now? Is this a dream?" Harry asked, still in shock.

"It's real, and I'm living it with you," Louis told him.

Harry and Louis had a bright future to look forward to where they could just be themselves and were finally able to live their lives the way they had always hoped they could, and they would always have each other through it all.


End file.
